The bloomers were from the Great Depression era c 1930and probably made from an old sheet.

What caught our attention was the delicate hand stitched flower and some lace around the legs.

There was a whole lot more knicker than you and I would probably wear today!

The undies are part of the personal introduction given to her costume collection by owner Loel Thompson, 'and not very well made either' she adds.It's a clever way to grab your attention especially as Loel contrasts the sheet knickers with a delicate trousseau

Every piece in the collection

has a story to tell.

There is a story about the owner, the period in history,

and very often a story about how these particular garments found themselves in Australiaand then a final one, about how they came to be in Loel's collection.She has learned to be discerning...and is often offered wedding dresses galore!

The museum is a hidden gem

It was purpose built and tucked away in an industrial part of Bulleen,a suburb of Melbourne.It is open by appointment and entry is in exchange for a donation to charity.Which is how through our School's International Parent groupthat I ended up four Australian, Indian, British and Persian friendsadmiring fashions through the ages.

The clothes and accessories are staged into decadeswith period pieces of furniture to further enhance the story.We were fascinated by this 1890's china tea cup with moustache rest!

Some of the clothes didn't seem so old fashioned to me ...but I saw my friends looking long and hard.I look at each of us each brought up with different fashions, customs and lifestyles.We had such contrasts as to what we would have considered the height of fashion as we grew up.Even today, all dressing 'Aussie'we have kept some respect for the fashions of our heritageWhether it is a love of bright clothes and silksor some jewellery that was originally bought overseas.Maybe it was a Sari or a Middle Eastern veilI remember longing for a pair of green Hunter wellington boots,every country British kid would have a pair of wellies!

We had such a lovely morning,given we were all brought up on many different continentsit was fascinating seeing which clothes resonated with each of us.Ohh Mary Quant tights - did you have these in India?

We were so lucky to have had the opportunityfor a private tour of The Costume CollectionThank you Loel!

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Hello dear friends in Blogland. How are you doing?
I am pleased to be here for Friendship Friday
I've had a great week and have well and truly settled back into my Asian life
where I am enjoying making new friends both locally and in here in the blogosphere.

I've had fun, I have joined a new group - the American Women's Club of Thailand.
Why the American's when you're a British Aussie? You may well ask. Well firstly they take anyone, these Expat women's groups really are not that fussy!

Well, except for the ANZWG Group where you need to be closely associated with Australia and New Zealand. I am, I have the passport and I have a family, home and of course an Aussie Crazy Poodle Down Under and I miss my Melbourne life terribly, but my life in Thailand is more about meeting women from around the globe.

I have always had lots of American friends, I chat with many Americans via my blog...

... anyway they let this little bird in and she's chirpy about that! The…